Northern Junior Debating Championship

October 10, 2017

A long trip to Newcastle proved rewarding as our U16 debaters emerged victorious on their third visit to the north east. Liberty and Joyce from the V topped the qualifying, with Liberty taking the ‘best speaker’ cup and Joyce finishing in second place. They had to master some very challenging motions on environmental legislation, zero hours contracts and politics in post-conflict democracies. In the grand final, two St Paul’s teams faced two Scottish teams. Lucy and Nikaya from the VI triumphed on a football motion, trusting in Mr Askew’s advice that ‘sports motions are rarely about sport’. The Northern Junior Championship is the UK’s premier U16 competition with teams competing from as far apart as London and Dundee, so it was a wonderful experience for all involved.